By William Sloane, Julie H. Sloane

The Craft of Writing is a thin volume of pithy insights the author acquired over a lifetime of editing, publishing, writing and teaching. William Sloane was a compassionate and passionate editor who wrote, about the role of editor, "He is listening for the sound of people in what the author has submitted."

Before his death, William Sloane drafted an outline of the book with chapter headings and wrote the first chapter. His widow, Julie Sloane, edited the subsequent seven chapters, culling material from the author’s twenty years of lecture notes, correspondence, and outlines. Sloane addresses the first chapter to the new writer in down to earth language. No short road to riches and glory; no easy way to learn the craft of writing. He likens the usefulness of his book to that a writer would gain from an hour’s face-to-face meeting with a writer’s conference staff member.

Chapter 2: Between Writer and Reader is worth rereading until its import fully sinks in. It is a deep chapter well worth the effort of reading. Sloane states there is no literature without the reader—literature defined as still being read twenty-five years after first publication. To ignore this basic reality creates hardship and pitfalls for the writer. The writer does not exist for the reader, who is only interested in learning about himself through identifying with and participating in the story. The connection between writer and reader is so intricate as to defy description, yet Sloane does an excellent job.

Until I read The Craft of Writing, I did not fully grasp the importance of selecting the right point of view for a story. The right point of view, or means of perception in Sloane’s words, is critical for establishing an identity the reader can relate to and participate with in the action of the story. If the reader doesn’t identify with the POV character, the imagination isn’t ignited nor the reader’s identity suspended. This I knew, but Sloane explains the importance in a way that the light went off in my mind, aha!

Other chapters offer insight on basic writing techniques of narrative, scene, character and structure. A final chapter for the nonfiction writer addresses the value of active verbs and the error of writing in passive voice, of using adjectives and adverbs when a strong verb will do the job.

A good read, insightful and intelligent. I recommend it, as have other writers before me. I just wish I could remember what I was reading when I came across a writer’s recommendation of this great keeper of a book.

Although The Craft of Writing is no longer in print, copies can be found in your public library or purchased through Amazon.com, if you are lucky. A recent search at Amazon.com showed two copies available at over twice the book’s original price: used at $16.89 and new at $20.97. Ouch!

Review by Kayo Gonder